A Whole New World
by The Lady Gray
Summary: What would you do if all you knew to be true was swept away in a instant, and the only way to get it all back is to gain the help of those who could have been your enemies? AU!Starscream. Not SG, my own unwritten one. SLASH. ON HIATUS!
1. In Which We Meet Our Hero

Okay, so this is the new chapter one after I revamped it. Much better, wouldn't you say?

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does. I just play in their 'verse.

* * *

Starscream groaned. What had he been drinking last night? That was the only reason he could think of to explain why his CPU was acting as if it wanted to climb out off his head and curl up in a corner. He hadn't remembered a party planned for last night, but then again, now that Shockwave had rejoined them, that really meant nothing. Onlining his optics, he froze at the sight of the rather purple walls surrounding him. Scanning his surroundings quickly, he almost collapsed at the news that there was no-one around. He quickly climbed up to his feet, and then winced at the increased pulsing in his processor as it protested the rather rough treatment it was receiving. Looking around, he saw nothing but an empty hallway, terminating in turns at both ends. It could have been a hallway in any military base, except for the fact that the walls were a grayish-purple. This meant, of course, that Starscream had somehow found his way into the Decepticon base. Glancing around, Starscream could see no indication of which way he was to go. Sighing, he toyed with the idea of using ''Eny-Meny-Miny-Moe', but instead, he put his hand on the right wall, and started to walk.

Cycles later, he was still walking, but he was defiantly going up. He removed his hand from the wall and started forward faster, after all, he had been lucky this far, and he really didn't want to run into anything, or anyone, nasty. As he continued his uphill walk, he eventually came to a rather large door. Starscream stared at it for a second, before taking a small step forward. Apparently he had tripped a sensor of some sort, as the door swished open. Starscream winced. He wouldn't put it past the Decepticons to record the amount of times the door opened, and as he wasn't on their records… Running a quick scan on the room and finding it thankfully empty, he stepped in, and sighed when he saw the sight of the lift. His trine mates had beat it into his CPU that if he ever got caught in the Decepticon's base, he must find a way to the lift before the ground-ponders overtook him and brought him down. Quickly he moved over to the control console, hovering in his excitement at the thought of getting out of this underground death-trap. Despite his excitement, his servos were steady as he tapped out the passcode he had memorized at Thundercracker's insistence. Starscream grinned at the sight of the lift doors opening in front of him. Igniting his thrusters, he hopped the console and floated to the doors exited just to get out of this place. Waiting for the lift to reach the surface was almost akin to torture. The lift doors opened, and he flew out, into the _SEA AIR? _Engines stalling in shock, he fell back down onto the launch platform in shock at the sight of the ocean around him. _Huston, _he thought wryly, _we have a problem._

Twenty minutes later he had confirmed that this was, in fact, an ocean and not a rather advanced sort of hologram or a lake, and was now analyzing the content in order for him to get a rough idea of where he was. Based on the salt content and the other foreign contaminants, he decided that this was the Pacific ocean. Now that he knew approximately where he was, all he had to do was to figure out where the slag he was and how he was to get home! Expanding his scans, he sensed a large group of pings laying to the east. Engaging his thrusters, he activated his transformation sequence and followed his radar, staying low on the horizon.

Once he was about a mile away from the cluster of pings, he heard the distinct sound of battle under the roar of his engines. Slowing down, he went lower until he was only slightly above the rocky ground, then transformed back into root mode. Landing lightly on his pedes, he crept forward slowly, uncertain of what he was about to see. Looking forward, he saw a cliff leading into a valley where the sounds were coming from.

Dropping lower, he moved slowly forward until he could see the horrid scene in all its brutality. He had been right, it was a battle. But it was a battle unlike any he had unwittingly relived though his trines eyes every time they bonded. For one thing, the roles in this seemed swapped. Below him was a solar farm, and instead of protecting it, the Autobots seemed to be sucking it dry while the Decepticons were protecting it. _Surely the ration problem hasn't gotten that bad, has it?_ Certain mechs were missing from the battlefield, such as Shockwave and Wheeljack, also, there was a difference in how they moved, a certain arrogance in Motermaster's usually taciturn maneuvers, a grace added to Soundwave's every move that had always been missing for as long as Starscream had known the mech. Scanning the battlefield, he searched for the familiar grey figure of Megatron, knowing in his spark that so long as he was the same, all would be alright. However, something caught his optic that caused him to almost freeze at the sight. Down there, fighting alongside Thundercracker and Skywarp, was Starscream. For a long moment, it was all Starscream could do to not freeze up as he watched his double cruelly and coldly shooting the Decepticons left right and center. Shaking himself out of his stupor, he cast about desperately for Megatron, knowing that the other would be the same, would have to- He had found him. Inside, his spark was wailing at the sight of Megatron tearing cruelly into Optimus Prime, until a lucky shot on behalf of a Decepticon sharpshooter put paid to that. Moving back slightly, Megatron raised his arm, and cried out "Decepticons, retreat!" proving the sneaking suspicion that Starscream had been trying to ignore. This, this travesty, was not the world that Starscream had known. Numbly, he watched as the Prime collected his mechs and rolled off. _So what do I do now?_


	2. In Which Our Hero Gets His Aft Kicked

Disclaimer: I don't oen transformers. Hasbro does. I just play in their verse.

A/N: Revamp of the second chapter. MUCH better.

* * *

Once he had gotten over his shock, Starscream knew that he had to do something; after all, he had no allies, no energon, and no base from which to work from. He had to have a plan, but first, he had to find a place to work from, someplace hidden from sight, that no-one would ever find him. Not four hours later he stumbled into the perfect place by accident, literally. He had been walking though the side canyons that riddled the entire plains, and had taken a step, only to meet air. He quickly ignited his right thruster and kept himself from falling in. Peering down in the hole he had just caused, he sent a quick scan, and then almost fell over in shock at what his readings showed. This was only the entrance to a large cave, so large in fact, that as long as he didn't dwell on that fact and made sure to see the sky regularly, he shouldn't have a problem.

Quickly, he enlarged the hole so he could fit in and, after sending a quick prayer to Primus, jumped in, using his thrusters to keep himself from falling to hard or fast. Not a minute later he was walking into the cave seeing that it more then matched his predictions. _Perfect_.

* * *

Now that he had a base of operations, Starscream knew that, if he was to have any success at all in his observations, he must have energon. He hated to do it, but he knew that, in order to get any, he would have to take a leaf from the Deception's book. He would have to steal from the humans. He hated to do it, but it had to be done, after all, it was his only choice!

* * *

Three days later, exhausted and almost at 50 percent energy levels, Starscream stared greedily at the solar collector that was gathering energy for energon three canyons over from his base. It only took another nine minutes until the energon was done, and he fell upon it ravenously, gulping it down quickly. Once he had finished, he felt like a new seeker, cliché though it may be. Starscream wasn't proud of how he had gotten the parts for the collector, over the past three days he had stolen the parts from over 30 different locations over the entire west coast. Grimly, Starscream concluded, like he had many times these days, that he would pay them back full price.

* * *

Now that he had a base and a constant source of energon, Starscream could turn his attention to getting information about this strange world he was in. And what better way to find out more of this place, then straight from the source? A native would have to be found. With that in mind, he started to truly watch the patrols he had taken notice of over the last few days.

* * *

A bare week later, he had narrowed it down to three prospects, a red mini who took the night shift down the east shafts, a shuttle who took the day shifts though the self-same shafts, and a Lambo who had a rather meandering route though the west shafts. In the end, Starscream decided to go with the Lamborghini who bore a startling resemblance to the renowned Neutral artist Sunstreaker. He would have to move quickly to lay his trap, the mech would be at the location soon and if he came upon the unfinished trap, well…

Unfortunately, Starscream's fears were well founded, as not a breem later, the trap was not yet done, yet he could hear the distinct sound of engines coming near. Starscream stared to turn to face them, but it was too late, the other was already almost on top of him, transforming for better mobility. Starscream launched himself up, squawking when the yellow mech grabbed one of his pedes. "Get off, get off, _get off_!" He muttered, trying to shoot the other who was using Starscream's own body as a shield. Starscream finally managed to scrape the other's hand off his pede and flew off, shots raining around him.

Minutes later, Starscream landed on a cliff that was far enough away from the attack that he could rest before moving on. His fans whirled, trying to cool his over-heating frame. After a few seconds of reining in his uninhibited terror, he forced himself to think about what had just occurred. _That was not good. Or smart. In any definition of either of the words. _He thought wryly. _Now, what did I do wrong? I… left it too long, I didn't take off the second I heard him, I thought I could pull it off in the first place…_

Starscream was not a fighter. In fact, the worst fight he had been since they had landed on Earth was when the Decepticons had invaded the Ark and had made it as far as the labs. Even then, all he had done was grab Hook and run to his reinforced lab, shut and lock the door, sent off a distress signal, and waited for help. After all, that was what he had been told to do. They had spent three hours in that lab. Eventually, they had gotten tired of cowering in the corner, and by the time Starscream's trine and Hook's gestalt had gotten the door open, the two were plotting ways to prevent any intruders from getting in any farther then they had. Breakdown, the security director had appreciated their concern. Everyone else thought it a fine joke.

Tearing his thoughts away from the past, Starscream returned to the present, thinking about his choices. The Lambo was a bust, and neither the shuttle, nor the mini were very good choices. On the one hand, the shuttle was larger then Starscream, and could probably take him down without thinking about it, on the other, shuttles, at least in Starscream's world, were known to be very pacifistic. Then again, that could mean nothing. The mini looked a lot like one of the Deception's main front-liners, Cliffjumper, and Starscream really didn't want to deal with that. Sighing, Starscream made up his mind. _Looks like it'll be the shuttle!_


	3. In Which Our Hero Gets Caught, Sort Of

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does. I just play in their 'verse.

A/N: Reworking of chapter three, things won't flow between this and the next. I apologize for now.

* * *

"So what you are saying is that Starscream ambushed you in Sector Gamma alongside your patrol route, and you managed to fight him off, but he flew off before you could get him in stasis cuffs?"

"That's right, and he seemed off. It was too easy. It was almost as if he wasn't used to fighting. He made several mistakes I've never seen him make before."

There was a pause.

"I will bring this to Prime's attention. Dismissed."

"Sir-"

It was said with more force. "Dismissed."

* * *

Skyfire walked slowly down the tall, narrow canyon. He had been given this patrol route because he was the only one who could see over the sides of the cliffs, or at least, some of the time. The rest of the time he was as blind as all of the others. It wasn't as if it mattered, really, the Decepticons rarely ever came around here, and when they did, it was usually someone, most of the time Starscream, looking for a place to sulk over the cruelties of fate. He had a standing order to attempt to convert any such mechs.

Skyfire scanned his monotonous surroundings without much interest. Cliff, bird, boulder, ping, cactus- Wait, what? He scanned again; yes that definitely was a ping. The ping was oddly familiar as well, as if someone he knew well had somehow changed the feel or shape or taste of their ping… in fact, Skyfire realized, it felt almost like Starscream's ping, before The Crash. That was how Skyfire thought of it now, The Crash. After all, it had changed his life forever, it deserved a title, so in his memoirs that Skyfire was sure he would write, or be forced to write, one of these vorns, the readers could differentiate if from any number of smaller, less life changing crashes that he had had at dozens of surveys over the orns. Skyfire smiled slightly at the memory of one such crash that had ended in a three week stay on a gorgeous planet. Starscream had- Starscream It seemed that most of his thoughts led to his old lab partner these days. Skyfire shook himself out of his thoughts. This was no time for this!

Skyfire pulled out his rifle from his sub-space, better safe then sorry as the humans said, and cautiously followed the ping. It led him to a smallish capillarity of the canyon where the cliffs went far above his head and, apparently, according to the signs, there had been mining in previous years. In fact, the ping was down in one of the old mineshafts, a place where, if his specialized radar was correct, he would have to crouch for the first few yards but after that he would be able to stand back up.

He walked slowly to the entrance, nothing but a hole in the ground really, hesitated a little, and then jumped in, firing his thrusters in order to make an easier landing. Despite his preparations, he still stumbled at the landing. Looking around, he flipped on his night vision. The ping appeared to be coming from further inside the cave. He crouched and walked the first few yards, muttering mentally at the cruelties of fate that had landed him as a shuttle, why couldn't his parents have wanted a mech, or femme? Moving farther in the cave, he finally managed to get to an area where he could stand, and then did so, stretching out his kinked back cables. Now that he was slightly more comfortable, or as comfortable any shuttle is when not surrounded by the space winds, he looked around, trying to determine the source of the odd ping. Almost immediately he saw the source, a smallish seeker lying on the ground. The seeker was mostly white with red and blue fore… Skyfire's train of thought didn't vanish, it fell screaming off a 200 foot cliff. Was that _Starscream?_

Skyfire stared at the other. It certainly _looked_like Starscream, but didn't have blue optics of Autobot insignias. What was going on here? Starscream didn't have these things, yet he did! He was right in front of him!

"Starscream?" he finally asked, half dreading and half anticipating the answer.

The figure jerked, and attempted to bolt upright, only to slump back down onto its elbows, emphasizing the fact that the seeker couldn't get up. Skyfire recognized this as a level 3 energon deprivation, which caused lack of equilibrium, in most but especially seekers. The poor thing must have not gotten any energon in the last 2.5 weeks. For any other frame then a seeker it would have taken much longer to reach that point, but seekers, for some reason, always seemed to consume more energon then most. Not as much as shuttles, mind, but close. "Who are you?" The figure asked looking up at him, Autobot blue optics bright with confusion and some fear, "Do I know you?"

That settled it. Skyfire didn't know how, but this seeker was almost identical to the seeker he had known orns ago, the seeker who had worked with him, lived with him, had helped him prove all his crazy theories, had gone with him on all those surveys… He had to help him. His mind made up, Skyfire started to plot how he could help this ghost from the past.

* * *

Starscream's plan had been simple. Further recon had shown that the shuttle was the calm and quiet type, prone to thinking before he acted. All Starscream had to do was extend his energy signature, and wait for the other to pick it up and follow it back to the root, aka him. Then, he would play the 'wounded-mech', something he knew would work as he had seen the shuttle go out of his way to help a coyote that had broken it's leg. Starscream had to admit, Skyfire knowing his name _had_ been a tad unexpected, but still, all was going to plan. It was. Really! Aw, slag, he couldn't even lie to himself, this was getting out of hand!


	4. In Which We Learn Our Hero's Plan

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. HAsbro does. I just play in their 'verse.

A/N: Re-Vamp of chapter four. I was able to use most of this chapter instaid of completely re-writeing it like the first two.

* * *

"Who are you?" The figure asked looking up at him, Autobot blue optics bright with confusion and some fear, "Do I know you?"

That settled it. Skyfire didn't know how, but this seeker was almost identical to the seeker he had known orns ago, the seeker who had worked with him, lived with him, had helped him prove all his crazy theories, had gone with him on all those surveys… He had to help him. His mind made up, Skyfire started to plot how he could help this ghost from the past.

* * *

After saying this, the Starscream clone, for, after all, what else could it be, winced and stood up, saying, "Never mind, very stupid question, obviously you know me, otherwise, how would you know my name?" Not-Starscream chuckled darkly, "Then again, it might not be a name, and instead be some kind of a curse, although from the way you said it, and the way it sounds, it seemed as if you were saying a name, that or it's the world's worst curse, am I right?" Skyfire nodded and was about to ask why Not-Starscream didn't know the name of his own progenitor and code donator when Not-Starscream continued blithely, "So! I've a name and someone who, apparently, knows me." His tone at this point was positively chipper, "That's two better then I was before you came." Skyfire was confused, what did Not-Starscream mean, '_That's two better then I was before you came'? What did that even mean?_ He was about to ask him what in the name of Primus the seeker had meant with those bewildering words, when Not-Starscream ploughed on, unaware, or ignoring the fact the the shuttle was quite obviously trying to talk to him, "I see that you have that same figure on your wings as I do, why? Does it mean something? It's plain that you are a flyer like myself, does that have anything to do with it?"

Seizing his chance, and hoping to forestall any more speech from the seeker, Skyfire spoke quickly, "Yes it means that you are an Autobot like myself. Now, what did you mean, '_That's two better then I was before you came_'?"

Not-Starscream looked confused, but answered his question easily, "Exactly what it sounds like, my dear shuttle! The first thing I remember was waking up here on the beach that way," he wave vaguely in the direction of the coast, "a week or so ago, and before that, nothing!" Once he had said this bewildering statement, _Why had the 'con's abandoned him?_ his pose changed drastically and his hands started drawing in the air as he started to question Skyfire intensely, "Now what did you mean by 'Autobot'? Is it the name for the ones with wings? Or is it a name for everyone, even those without wings like my data-base seems to indicate there is? Is it the name of a political party? Is it a job? A birth-place? A social status? A-" He cut himself short, "And apparently, I tend to babble when excited, good to know. You know, Babble is such a fun word, Babble: verb, to talk and run on excessiv-" realizing what he was doing, Not-Starscream reached up and physically covered his mouth with his servo, "Shutting up now."

* * *

Starscream could have cried, _What am I doing to this poor shuttle?_ The problem was that he knew what he was doing, he was lying to protect himself and his trine, like Thundercracker had often told him he must one day do despite his multiple protestations to the contrary. _Looks like you were right, TC._ He thought then sighed mentally, he resolving to himself that he would make it up to the shuttle, somehow, someday.

* * *

"An Autobot is a mech or femme that wishes to fight against the tyranny of the Decepticons under the guidance of Optimus Prime."

_

* * *

_

At least I'm getting information out of it. Is it worth it?

In spite of it all, Starscream didn't think so. 

* * *

"Who are the 'Decepticons'?"

"The Decepticons are a group lead by Megatron, who was once the Lord High Protector…"

* * *

Starscream vented air and stared at the roof of the cave, thinking._ The main difference between these two worlds,_ he mused depressedly,_ was who had gone insane. _In Starscream's world Optimus Prime had gone insane, taken his Elite Guard, coaxed the civilians into a froth over the existence of the military and science bots, calling them a 'waste of resources that could be re-directed elsewhere', and caused their world to fall into civil war. But in Skyfire's world, for that was the shuttle's name, Skyfire, it was Megatron who had somehow gone insane, the shuttle wasn't clear on the specifics, and done pretty much the same thing. Starscream didn't want to think about what that implied. Megatron? His Megatron? The Megatron who was able to make even _him_ convinced that they would win the war despite the overwhelming odds against them? Who had saved his life when the Labs had been attacked? _That_ Megatron? Insane? Never! It was unthinkable! And, yet, here at least, it was truth. The mere hint made him think thoughts of dark 'What ifs', whispering to him that he may be wrong, that the gun-former he looked up to so might, in fact, be no better then the one here.

Starscream wrenched his thoughts away, and cast about desperately for some other topic, something that wouldn't cause him to question his entire life. Skyfire. Starscream had spent the last few weeks watching both the Autobots and the Decepticons and he had been able to recognize either the name or the build of almost all of them. Skyfire was one of the very few exceptions. Turning these thoughts over in his processor, he didn't realize it when he drifted into recharge.


	5. In Which Our Hero Actually is Caught

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does.

-_- Don't you hate it when it's allergy season, and you get a sinus infection? *Lame excuse*

* * *

Perceptor was sitting in the Rec room, with a forgotten energon cube near-by. He was worried about Skyfire, as the mech had been so distant lately. Ever since a little after Sunstreaker got attacked by Starscream, Skyfire had vanished three times, and had just gone again! He was jolted out of his thoughts as Wheeljack sat next to him, asking

"What's up, Perce?"

"It is like this…"

* * *

From Perceptor, to Wheeljack, from Wheeljack, to Ratchet, from Ratchet, to Prowl, from Prowl, to Jazz, and from Jazz, to Mirage, along with a new set of orders, to watch Skyfire, and to follow him the next time he leaves the Ark. Jazz hoped it was nothing more then Skyfire wanting time alone, as Prowl had thought when they discussed it last sleep cycle, but Jazz wasn't the head of Special Operations for nothing, and among his duties, along with getting information from the Decepticons, was making sure the Decepticons weren't getting information from _them_.

* * *

Mirage was close to screaming from boredom. There was only so long one could stare at a scientist doing experiments on a piece of algae. Mirage had hit that point one day into this assignment, and he had been here for over one human week. If he had been told to do this by any other mech then Jazz, he would have the requester, in the nicest and most polite terms of course, just where he could stick it. After all, this was one of the worst assignments a mech could get. Infiltration into enemy territory? Easy. A slash and hack into the Decepticon computers? No problem. Stalk Starscream for a month? Did it and got the information needed. Say that you're going into enemy territory for a unknown amount of time, put your lover through untold amounts of stress, stay invisible no matter what, and keep and eye on the one scientist whose work is the most boring? No, sir.

Mirage jolted himself out of his thoughts as Skyfire stood from where he had been sitting in front of a table covered in unrecognizable objects and walked to the door. Mirage followed, hoping they were headed to the Rec room, he could use a cube.

* * *

Well, this definitely wasn't the Rec room. Mirage thought wryly as he closed the distance between himself and Skyfire's tracking chip. All Autobots had one, it was implanted in their first check-up, but only those who needed to know even knew about the chips, and only a few knew any of the codes. Mirage knew one. Skyfire's. He knew that in the past he had to have known more, but it was standard procedure to have the code manually deleted from his memory core once he returned form the mission using it.

He was only one hundred meters from the tracking chip and he saw the shaft that he had gone into. Checking his radar he froze, there were two pings. One was Skyfire, but the other was unknown. Reaching into his sub-space, he pulled out some metal cable, so that he could rappel down the shaft so he could see the source of this other ping. Landing on the ground, Mirage crept forward, he could hear voices, one ways Skyfire's, and the other seemed, familiar somehow…

Turning the last corner, it was only his many vorns of experience that kept him from making any noise. Jazz had been right!

* * *

High on the wall of the chamber, un-noticed by anyone inside, Laserbeak perched, recording everything.


	6. In Which Both Sides Learn of it All

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does. I just play in their verse.  
A/N: Does anyone know the name of the Con base and/or computer?

* * *

Mirage stared at the unbelievable sight in shock. Skyfire was sitting against one of the walls talking to a seeker perched on his drawn-up knee. That would have been bad enough, but the seeker was Starscream! Skyfire, lovable, friendly, Skyfire, was a spy! Carefully, Mirage backed out of the chamber. He had to get back to the base now, so they could get Skyfire on his return.

* * *

It was a dull day in the Decepticon underwater base. So dull, in fact, that even Starscream took the day off to spend it with his trine. This was why there was no-one in the Command Center except for Megatron and Soundwave when Laserbeak came in from patrol.

"_Hey, boss_." Laserbeak chortled over her telepathic link with Soundwave, "_This one's a killer, you better hook me up to the computer though, 'cause you can't get the full affect through sound only_."

Soundwave, knowing his cassette's sense of humor, started to anticipate what Laserbeak had dug-up. Quickly he snatched the now-transformed cassette out of the air and connected her to the computer. The large screen light up, and showed the Autobot shuttle Skyfire transforming and landing in a large canyon. Quickly, he walked over to a hole in the ground and dropped down into it. Curious, the cassette followed down the hole. She arrived in time to see sky fire sitting on the ground while listening to Starscream talk about something, they could tell as Laserbeak had been to far away to tell.

Megatron growled with rage. Starscream had betrayed him! Whirling, he stalked to the door, calling though his com to his _loyal_troops to find Starscream at all costs!

* * *

He was found five breems later, in his quarters with his trine watching the latest in a popular holo-vid series, with all the evidence that they had also watched the three previous. According to the security tapes he had been there all day, which lead it-self to an interesting question, if that hadn't been Starscream, who was it?

* * *

The Autobot base was in a state of up-roar. Every mech there was either loudly declaring that 'they had known it all along', or was hotly declaring Skyfire's innocence. The higher officials were all in a meeting, talking about what to do, and the lower forces were about to riot.

In the rec room there were two clear sides, one for finding and interrogating Skyfire to find out what he had leaked to the 'cons, and one that was hotly declaring Skyfire's innocence. It was a sad fact, but the first side was larger, and appeared to be winning. The only mechs declaring Skyfire's innocence were Ratchet, Wheeljack, Perceptor, and, unknown to anyone else, as he was in the security room, Red Alert. Red didn't believe a word of what was said. He wasn't the Security Officer for nothing, and he could tell when a mech was playing both sides. He knew about Punch and Dealer, he just made sure that they only got the information that he wanted them to have. Settling back in his chair, he watched the growing conflict with one optic, scanning the other feeds with the other optic. It would sort itself out in time.


	7. In Which We Learn The Autobot's Choice

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does.

* * *

"Ah don' know, Prime, it jus' seems like something the 'con's would do." Ironhide was standing now, staring down at the others seated around the table. Prowl met his gaze squarely before returning his challenge,

"And what would you have us do, Ironhide? We must get answers, and we must get them as soon as possible." There was silence for a moment as the mechs around the table thought for another solution, but it was useless. They had already gone over all their choices and this was the only one that would work, something the Decepticons would do or not. After another moment of silence, Prime spoke up.

"You know your jobs, mechs. Dismissed." However, as Prime stood the leave the conference room, he hoped that he had made the right choice.

* * *

Hidden in the land above the canyon, Mirage watched the mine-shaft he had come out off not too long ago. He narrowed his eyes as he heard what sounded like boosters. Not five seconds after he heard them, Skyfire flew out of the shaft, headed west towards the ark. Mirage sent a low-bust com to his mechs. _Move out_.

* * *

Starscream lay with his back to the wall. Everything was going to plan. He had Skyfire wrapped around his finger, his tanks were full from the energon Skyfire had brought him, and his knowledge of the universe he had found himself in was growing in leaps and bounds. Oh, he knew that the information he was getting was biased, but he was used to sifting though slag to get to the core of things. _Yes_, he mused, _life is good_. Although… He had to be honest with himself. He missed his work. He missed making a difference. He missed his lab, his humans, his _Canis lupus familiaris*_, and, yes he was mech enough to admit it, he missed his trine. He missed Skywarp's sparkling-like pranks, he missed Thundercracker's domineering way of getting him to intake energon, and he even missed those idiotic trine outings that Thundercracker was sure to make him attend every human month.

Lost in homesickness as he was, he missed the quiet hisses of mechs going down ropes. He missed the thumps of their landing. He missed the rumble off their steps. He didn't miss the sound of one of the four kicking a rock, however. Turning inquisitively to the origin of the sound, he asked,

"Skyfi-"

The rest of what he would have said was lost to history as one of the intruders pressed a hypo-spray to one of the energon lines in his neck and released the sedative.

* * *

Miles to the west, Skyfire was making the final descent to a clearing near the entrance of the Ark. Transforming as he landed, he walked the short distance to the Ark. As soon as he entered, Skyfire was able to tell that something was wrong. Walking further in, he started to call out, hoping that someone was around to hear him, and that that someone wasn't a Decepticon. At a lack of what to do, he headed to his lab, calling out on occasion. He only started to seriously wonder where everyone had gone when he passed the Rec Room and found it empty. This had never happened before. Not even in the middle of a battle was the Rec room abandoned. Skyfire picked up his pace. Perceptor almost never left his lab; he would know what had happened.

Skyfire entered the lab. Empty. He walked over to the terminal on the wall. Teletraan-I would be able to tell him. Preoccupied as he was, he didn't know anyone else was in his lab until they walked up behind him and injected a sedative into a main energon line in his arm.

* * *

* The Scientific name for the common dog.  
A/N Remember that whole, going to end in ten chapters thing? Not gonna happen. It's more like 15.


	8. In which Our Hero Wakes Up

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does. I just play in their verse. The idea of Seeker-cant was coined by Katsuko.

A/N: 1009 words. That is all.

* * *

Ratchet stood in the middle of his (_his!_) med-bay. His violated med-bay. Now, normally, Ratchet had no problem with the other mechs coming in at any random time for one of the more common synths, and in fact, he had an entire wall just for that purpose, with the synths on shelves covering 1/3rd of the wall, with the remaining 2/3rds covered by a large white board with the names of every mech on base and their dose size. That was one thing. He had trained them well, they all knew to look at the board before taking the synth. But this? Not only had _they_ taken his special sedative-synth, but _they_ had also injected two mechs with no previous history of having used the synth, a dangerous task as a medic never knew just how the synth would react to each mech's systems. If that hadn't been bad enough, he had just found out about it less then a human hour ago, when _they_ had told Ratchet to come to the brig as there was a prisoner that needed his attention. When he had seen the state his friend was in, he demanded to know why he hadn't know, only to be told that he hadn't been informed that he was 'Too close to the situation at hand'. Too close? He'd show _them_ to close! It was probably needless to say that he had had the both of them, Skyfire and what looked like a clone of Starscream, moved to the high-security wing of the med-bay.

Ratchet moved swiftly to the reinforced-glass of the observatory, gazing down at his friend and the clone. As he looked down, he saw that the screen monitoring Skyfire's CPU output had fluctuated, he was waking. He was about to go enter the wing, when a hand on his shoulder stopped him short. He glared over his shoulder at Prowl who stood there with wings erect, as unruffled by his glare as if it had been a mild breeze.

"Prime's orders. No one goes in until they both wake up." Prowl said. Ratchet felt his anger flow out of him, leaving him drained. It was a good idea; see what they would reveal while alone, and besides, it wasn't Prowl he was angry at. It wasn't his fault the poor mech was programmed the way he was. Ratchet reflected that one day; he'd have to track down that faulty line of code that inhibited his ability to show his emotions. Turning back to the room, he saw that Skyfire had sat up and was in the process of removing the connecters to the monitors so that he could close his chest plates. As Ratchet watched his friend, he neglected to notice Prowl moving up to stand beside him, watching the large mech below closely.

* * *

Skyfire woke.

When a transformer wakes, it is nothing like the slow process a human goes though, the transformer is in recharge and then awake. That's all there is to it. Skyfire used to believe that. Used to, that is, until he had entered the Science Academy and was assigned a dorm with the only other flyer in the school, a seeker named Starscream. Starscream seemed to take it as a point of pride that he took no less then 30 human minutes to fully rise out of recharge. As Skyfire looked over at his old lab-partner, he reflected on the fact that no matter how many things change, some things stay the same.

* * *

Starscream woke slowly, as was his wont. He knew that he should really get around to re-programming his recharge cycle, but he had often figured, why? He wasn't a front-liner. He wasn't even a warrior. He was the last minute scientist Megatron brought because the mech realized it would be difficult to secure trade agreements without knowing the slightest thing of how the other side thought and reasoned.

He flickered on his optics and was on-line immediately, despite having more then ten minutes left in his recharge cycle, memories snapping into place, reminding him that he wasn't at his quarters on the ark, this was somewhere else. He sent out a low level scan and wanted to sob at the results. He was in a cell with Skyfire. Obviously the Autobots had found out and had taken them for interrogation. He tried to remind himself that this wasn't home, that the Cons were Bots now, with all the emotion to it, but there was still that little corner of his CPU crying out, _Why? Why me? I'm nothing! Really! I mean, I'm manipulative, but anyone would be after going though the Academy!_ But he firmly squashed the voice and sat up, looking around. The cell was Spartan, filled with only two berths, a group of monitors, two mechs, and two cameras he could see and probably twenty more he couldn't. He looked over at the larger mech, seeing the tired lines of his body and spoke up, because he was willing to do anything to drown out that little section of his CPU.

"So, what are you in for?" Skyfire visibly startled, obviously not expecting to hear any such thing. Once he got over his startlement, he gave Starscream a look so dirty, Starscream was surprised he wasn't dead yet. Starscream quickly sent a message in Seeker-Cant, saying that Skyfire should, _::Play along, slagit!::_ through a quick series of wing-flicks and engine hums.

Skyfire apparently got the message, as he relaxed and said casually "Well, I apparently did something horrendous enough to warrant my being stalked and tagged like an animal. You wouldn't happen to have had anything to do with that, would you?" He tagged the last statement with an over-the-top glare.

"Me? Have anything to do with it? Never!" And they were off. In the middle of the friendly debate, Starscream wondered how it was that he could have become so close to a mech, in less then two months even, that it felt like they had been friends for orns.


	9. In Which Prowl Angsts too Much

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does.

A/N: I'm watching BW. I finished the first season last night. I loves it!

* * *

Prowl wanted to cry. If he had tear ducts, he would have. Three hours. Three hours and all he had gotten from the two was that they knew each other well. That was it. Oh, Prowl knew that Prime wouldn't blame him, but the others wouldn't. And with his position as precarious as it was, he couldn't risk any mistakes. He remembered how it was before he had gotten lucky and landed the job under Prime. Out there, it was any mech for himself, and a glitched mech? Forget about it. Glitches were lower then Military mechs before the war, and even now they were only tolerated, not accepted.

Prowl knew that he had only lasted this long as a matter of luck. That, and the fact the twins listened to him. Sometimes. That was it. That was why he had lasted 100 years, give or take 40 million. Luck and the twins. He hadn't been part of Prime's unit before the launch, but at the last minute the head of tactics got himself slagged and Prowl was the only tactics bot available. Shaking himself out of his self-pity, he turned his attention back to the two mechs below. Even as his head turn to track the movements of the Starscream duplicate, he couldn't help but to send up a small prayer. May Primus have mercy on him, he had a feeling he'd need it to get though this with his rank and dignity intact.

* * *

"Oh, and the cows?" Star asked archly, raising an optic ridge as if to say 'well?'

"That wasn't my fault and you know it!" Skyfire snapped back. He was enjoying this game of 'What-If'. He knew what Star was doing. By making out as if they had known each other for much longer then they actually had, he downplayed the risk he presented.

Not that Star was one. Star had told him everything, how he was a clone who had Fixated on the part of Starscream's psyche that still was a scientist, that still was the mech that Skyfire had known. Star had told him about his first awakening in the Decepticon med-bay. He had told him of how Megatron, upon discovering that Star had Fixated on the wrong part of Starscream's psyche, had shot the clone with his fusion cannon. He had told him of how Megatron had told the Constructicons to "Remove this slag from my presence." Star had told him of how the Constructicons had thrown him off the launching pad and of how he, weak and helpless, was at the mercy of the ocean. Eventually, Star had drifted up on the shore where he had, with the last of his energy, pulled himself above the tide-line and fell into recharge, only to wake alone and half-insane from energon loss. Star had made his way to the nearest concentration of pings and, delirious from lack of energon, had attacked Sunstreaker. Skyfire didn't know much about his new friend, but he knew this, Star was no threat.

_

* * *

_

Prime to Prowl, anything to report?

_Prowl to Prime, no sir._

_Move on to stage two. _

* * *

Although Ratchet was at the other side of the med-bay when the call came in, he still managed to hear everything. _Stage two?_

* * *

Prowl turned off his com and regarded the two mechs in the isolation room for a second longer, before he shook his head. He didn't like this idea and his objections had been logged at the meeting. At this point it wasn't his job to question, but to act. Pasting on his 'King-Of-The-Aftheads' face (Jazz had named it), he walked down to the entry way.

He stood in front of the door, letting the scanner investigate his ping. Now, pings had been chosen for this and other such high-security wings for a reason, and one's ping never changed and could never be replicated. To know someone's ping, was to know one's soul, so quite often a mech could go through his life with only his creators knowing his frequency. Prowl himself had only one other who knew, after his creator had died in the beginning of the war…. Prowl shook himself out of his reflections as the scanner chirped that he was who he said he was and that the door would unlock on his mark. What had gotten into him? Why was he being so introspective? Prowl leaned over to the inter-com and said clearly, "Step over to the far wall." There was a small window on the door, so he could see in to make sure that they were where they were supposed to be. Although he couldn't hear what they were saying, he could tell that as they got up, Starscream had made a sarcastic quip of some sort and Skyfire was reprimanding him. As he opened the door, Prowl only wished that one day, all this wouldn't be as difficult as it was now.

* * *

The bantering had fallen off, slightly, when the order to "Step over to the far wall" came in. Starscream was relieved, finally, something was happening! As he stepped to the wall, he quipped with a slight smirk, "About time, I was beginning to think they had forgotten us!"

Skyfire gave him a look, "Star, I don't know about you, but I, for one, don't wish to upset the jailers. It makes them cranky." Starscream barked out a laugh. He must have been rubbing off on the larger mech, after all, he didn't recall him having that wicked of a sense of humor earlier!

"At least it would be something!" He responded as he pressed himself to the wall and the door hissed open quietly, revealing the figure of Prowl, the head tactician.


	10. In Which Red Alert is Secretive

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does. I just play in their 'verse.

A/N: So… You miss me? *Crickets* Thought not! Oh, well. *Shrugs* I'm back and I'm here to stay! Finals are over and school's out for the summer, so I'll hopefully be able to post larger chapters like the one following. *Nods*

Also: I HAVE NO CLUE WHERE THIS CAME FROM! Honestly! It just blindsided me! See this? *Holds up piece of paper, the rips it up* That was my outline. I have no clue where we're going on this joyride, but it'll be fun!

_

* * *

_

Skyfire gave him a look, "Star, I don't know about you, but I, for one, don't wish to upset the jailers. It makes them cranky." Starscream barked out a laugh. He must have been rubbing off on the larger mech, after all, he didn't recall him having that wicked of a sense of humor earlier!

"_At least it would be something!" He responded as he pressed himself to the wall and the door hissed open quietly, revealing the figure of Prowl, the head tactician. _

* * *

Stepping into the cell, Prowl felt a pang of regret for what he was about to do to what was obviously an innocent in this war. Oh, they had known that this was a clone immediately after bringing the mech in. Unless, of course, Starscream had taken leave of his senses, changed his optic filters, switched his insignias, and removed the 'kill' function from his null-rays.

"Come on." He said dispassionately to the clone, who made a series of gestures that apparently were supposed to convey the message 'Who, me?' before stepping away from the wall at a beckoning gesture Prowl made with his acid pistol.

* * *

Red Alert scanned the monitors at a fast pace with practiced optics, seeing everything there was to see of any importance before flipping to the next channel. Beside him was Trailbreaker, moving slowly though the meager 50 channels that Red had been forced to allow him to look though, knowing that nothing would happen on those, letting the mech go though them at his unbearably, to Red at any rate, slow pace.

Hall, hall, Mirage and Hound catching up, hall, energon dispensers, the twins with eat-slag grins on their face-plates talking to a cornered Bluestreak, Red paused there, flagging the channel for further attention, before moving quickly on. After flipping though almost two hundred more channels, he was about to move back to the flagged channel when he saw something that made him re-set his optics in shock. Prowl was leading the Starscream clone from the high-security ward to the brig. Knowing he had little time, he wrestled his glitch under control, and snapped "You have control" to a flabbergasted Trailbreaker before running out of the security room as if a Seeker trine was on his tail.

Turning left, he raced past a startled Ironhide, who had been on his way to take his shift on the monitors. For once in his sorry life, his glitch and his CPU were of an accord on what he should do and he reveled in the feeling. He must protect the Chosen. Swinging around the second-to-last turn he slowed until he was at a fast walk, then slower still until he had stopped. He allowed his intakes the time needed to cool his over-heated frame, before continuing on at a fast walk, quickly catching up to Prowl and the Chosen. The rather stasis-cuffed Chosen. Casting a jaundiced glare at Prowl's servo on the Chosen's wing, he stepped up next to Prowl and let a rater harried look cover his faceplates.

"Prowl!" He said as if panicked. He wasn't and Prowl knew this, having been there for some of his worse moments, but those who would watch the security feeds later must suspect nothing.

"Red Alert." Prowl replied coolly. Red felt a moment of pity for the other mech, after all, paranoia was common, and reather easy to control once one knew the tricks, but Prowl's glitch? Quickly he pushed it all away, there was no time. Once this was all over they could continue their work, but until then…

"Prowl, I cannot let you take it," here he cast a cold look at the Chosen, "to interrogation room 3, I have not had it secured yet." He gave Prowl a look, a flick of his servo, and shifted his weight from one pede to the other. All innocent gestures, or so anyone looking on would have thought. You see, glitches had been around for a long time, and when a group has been exiled, they tend to band together. Over the years, their gatherings had developed into something more complex, until it had turned into what it was now. A full fledged, functioning society.

For, once a glitch had been identified, a flag was put on their file. There were many glitches that watch those self-same files and once one was flagged, they followed it up, made sure it was, in fact, a glitch, then sent the closest Leader to teach the youngling, for that was when most glitches showed up in the scans, their way of life. And, as Seekers had their cant, so did the glitches. What he had said translated roughly to "_Trust me, give me him and make Music,"_ for that was the closest translation of Jazz's name in Talk, _"look over the room for you. Meet me in my quarters. I have the need to talk."_

Prowl gave him a look, but, with a quick flick of the index finger of his right servo, he showed his agreement to the plan. He shifted his servo to the left so Red Alert could get a grip on the Seeker's wing. Red gave the other mech a slight nod and propelled the Seeker before him, on the way to the most secured place on the Ark, his quarters.

* * *

Starscream's CPU raced. Who was this mech? Few were the mechs that Starscream didn't know from name, faceplate, or reputation. Yet, this mech, this Red Alert, he knew nothing of! Apparently he was of a high rank, for the other mech, Prowl, had given him up to him with nary a complaint. Who was he? Starscream was jolted out of his thoughts at the sight of the approaching door. It was the only one in this area, as it seemed to be disused, but it appeared to be what they were headed for.

* * *

When Red Alert saw his door, he terminated his com with a quick, _::Got to go, just get here soon!::_ He stepped quickly to the door, then, using his servo, pressed the Seeker's, the_ Chosen's_, body against the wall, ensuring he did not see any of the ten codes Red imputed. Before he had moved to the Ark, he had used twenty-two, but, needs must.

He entered the room quickly, automatically scanning the room for any disturbances, before flicking on the lights. With the Seeker still in tow, he went through all of his traps. Seeing nothing different from how he had left it this morning, he released the Seeker's wing, unlocked the stasis-cuffs, and collapsed on the nearest of his four chairs. The Seeker sputtered for a second, whirling, then started to barrage him with questions. Before the other could get very far, Red cut him off with an, "I will explain everything when the others get here. Please, sit down." then left it at that. He shut down his optics and pretended to fall into a light recharge cycle, appearing to ignore the other mech in the room. This was far from the reality of what he had actually done, however. What he had done was to simply let the seeker maneuver though the room so Red Alert could get a better handle on the other's personality. It was all under supervision, of course. He may have been without optics, but he still had his sensor horns.

* * *

Starscream stood there for a click, staring at the insane mech who had just let a _convicted criminal_ loose in his quarters unsupervised. Eventually, he shrugged it off, so the mech was suicidal? None of his business. Carefully, keeping an optic on the other mech, he started to look around his surroundings. The first word that popped into his mind was _Spartan_. For the room was very bare. The walls were the same shade of orange that pervaded the base. There were four chairs, a desk with a terminal over it, two shelves, a energon dispenser, and two doors, the one they had just come though and one that must lead to the other's recharge berth. As he looked around, he felt a pang of home-sickness, missing his trine, his friends, his _home._ Shaking the feeling off, _slagit, Starscream this is not the time for this!_ he moved to the shelves, desperate for any type of distraction from the turmoil in his CPU. Unfortunately for him, the shelves were the same as the rest of the room, nigh empty. Oh, there were a few dataplates, a rock, a pressed flower of some sort, but that was it. Starscream was becoming dangerously close to doing something rash, when the door chimed, waking Red Alert from his recharge. Red Alert glanced over at Starscream, who pasted an innocent look on his faceplates. Red Alert didn't seem to believe him, but went to the door anyway, and called up a screen showing the entire hallway outside. The only ones there were the head tactician, Prowl, and the tourtu-er, _medic, _Ratchet. Starscream just barely managed to resist the urge to shudder in pure fear. Oh, he kept reminding himself that this wasn't his home, but, really, it was hard to remember when one was staring up at the faceplates of the mech who had warped Springer and his team to think that they were Decepticons and always had been.

* * *

Although Red had his back turned to the Seeker, he could sense the repressed shudder at the sight of the visitors. _Interesting, so, not only do I have to convince Prowl that the Seeker's the Chosen and Ratchet that the rumors about the Glitches were all true, I also have to play referee between the Chosen and the others in this little conspiracy. Fun. _Red ran an intake cycle, reset his sensors, and opened the door, ready for the hardest fight of his very long life.


	11. In Which Red Has a Bad Day

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does. I just play in their verse.

A/N: The reason for the early update is that I'll be gone all day tomorrow.

_

* * *

_

Last Time:

_Although Red had his back turned to the Seeker, he could sense the repressed shudder at the sight of the visitors. _Interesting, so, not only do I have to convince Prowl that the Seeker's the Chosen and Ratchet that the rumors about the Glitches were all true, I also have to play referee between the Chosen and the others in this little conspiracy. Fun._ Red ran an intake cycle, reset his sensors, and opened the door, ready for the hardest fight of his very long life. _

* * *

Ratchet was in his Med-bay running a routine inventory. He knew it would still be the same as the last inventory he made the day before, but he couldn't help it. They had come into his med-bay. They had touched his equipment. They, they- He was just getting a good head of steam going, full of indignant fury at those who had invaded his, _his,_ med-bay, when the Com-call came in.

_::Yes?::_ He snapped not caring who had comed him, be it Prime or Megatron himself. They were about equal in his optics at this point.

_::Ratchet, can you come to my quarters? I need to speak to you_.:: Red Alert's voice said, slightly tinny, but still recognizable. Ratchet leaned back from the replacement servos he was sorting; surprised that Red would com him. It wasn't that they hated each other, they just didn't interact much past what was needed in the lone of duty. Curiosity peaked, he responded.

_::I'm doing an inventory now, but I can come afterwards.:: _he replied, and was about to return to his work when Red Alert responded with an almost panicked tone to his vocalization.

_::I am afraid I need to talk to you _now_.:: _Ratchet reset his optics in shock at the tone Red Alert put on the last word. Ratchet was mad now. First he had his med-bay infiltrated, and now Red Alert was going to order him around? He had probably been in on it! Ratchet was about to tell Red Alert just where he could stuff his orders, in precise and graphic detail, when Red Alert comed in one more time before shutting down the line and entering a restricted zone where no coms were able to enter or exit.

_::Got to go, just get here soon!::_ Oh, he'd be there soon, and when he got there…

Despite his intentions to the contrary, by the time Ratchet had made the long trek to Red Alert's quarters, he had cooled down enough to let curiosity take precedence over his anger. Just what did the other mech need of him? _Well,_ he thought as he entered the restricted zone, _I'm about to find out._ Steeling his reserve, he walked to the door and pressed the chime. It was not a minute later when the door swished open, revealing Red Alert and the Starscream clone. _The Starscream clone?_ Ratchet re-set his optics, but, sure enough, there was the clone, standing in the middle of Red Alert's quarters, with all apparent freedom. If it had been any other mech the Red Alert, Ratchet would have called security immediately. Had it been any other situation, he would have pulled his rifle from his sub-space and demanded answers. As it was, he just accepted Red Alert's offer of a seat and asked, "Just what is going on here?"

Red Alert looked at him seriously and said, "I only want to go over this once. Can you wait until Prowl arrives?" Ratchet, in fact, did not think he could wait much longer, as there was _a criminal in the room_! But, never-the-less, he said that he could. Thirtyu minutes later, he was seriously considering taking his words bark and demanding an explanation, when he heard the door chime. For a second, he almost thought that he had imagined it, but, no, Red Alert was standing up and walking to the view-screen to see the mech outside.

* * *

Prowl stared at the two mechs walking away from him. _Well. That was odd. _With a mental shrug, he turned to find Jazz. It had been a while since Red had addressed him in Cant, so he wanted to find out the reason why as soon as he could. Walking quickly, he turned a corner and found an interesting sight. The twins were attempting to convince Bluestreak to do something for them. It took all of .342 seconds for Bluestreak to spot him, then another .105 to send him a desperate look, prompting Prowl to step in and, according to Blue's doorwings, _'HELP ME ALREADY!'. _Prowl stepped forward. "Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Bluestreak, blocking access to the energon dispenser is prohibited." The twins startled and turned. As they turned, they let enough space to pass between themselves and the wall that Bluestreak could pass though. After he had managed to persuade the twins to leave, he turned to Bluestreak and asked, "What was it this time?" Bluestreak shuffled from pede to pede before answering.

"The usual, you know, if I could help them with their latest prank. Did you see their last one? I thought it was rather unfair of them, actually, I mean, there was no need to paint Tracks pink. Sure, he took the last of…." And so on, and so forth. Prowl let the words wash around him, they were comforting in their familiarity. But, soon he found himself asking Bluestreak if he had seen Jazz. It took Prowl another three minutes, but he had successfully managed to extract the information needed. Feeling mildly victorious, he made his way to the rec room, where Bluestreak had seen Jazz not an hour before.

An hour later, Prowl was standing in front of Red's door, waiting for him to open. It had taken him five minutes to get to the rec room, ten to discover the jazz was not, in fact, in the rec room, fifteen more to find him on the ledge above the Ark, another eight minutes were spent convincing him to do the job, and then it had taken him twenty minutes to go from the entry to Red Alert's quarters, leaving the tactician feeling drained. The door swished open, and Prowl walked in, asking, "Red, what is this all abou-" Later, he would blame his low energon levels for the fact it had taken him that long to notice the convict standing free in the middle of the room. "Red, just what is going on here?"

* * *

All Red could see were the doorwings flared high above the other mech's head. "Well, there's a very good explanation for that, and I'll tell you if you just sit down." _Oh, Primus save me!_

* * *

Starscream grinned, _This'll be fun!_


	12. In Which it All Comes Out

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does. I just play in their 'verse.

A/N: Well. Here it is. The explanations. Have fun! Mehehehehe…

_

* * *

_

All Red could see were the doorwings flared high above the other mech's head. "Well, there's a very good explanation for that, and I'll tell you if you just sit down.

_

* * *

_

Starscream grinned,

This'll be fun!

* * *

Ratchet leaned forward, _Finally!_"So?" He pressed, wanting to know why it was that he was there in the first place. Out of the corner of his optic he could see Prowl start, the other mech had probably not even known he was there, he thought absently, before pressing on, his attention turning back to the mech in front of him. "Why am I here? I am needed in the Med-Bay you know…" He trailed off, hoping it would cause the other mech to cave sooner. Thankfully, it did.

"First of all, Prowl, do you remember when we were being taught by Slipstream?" The other mech nodded, casting a covert glance at the medic, warning the other in cant to be careful.

"Yes but what does that have to do with why the convict is standing free and is practically falling over from suppressed laughter." The last was an overstatement, he wasn't about to fall over, but if he kept it in for to long, he would probably break something.

"I will explain everything in a minute. Ratchet," The medic startled at being addressed, "Did you mean what you said in the Rec Room?" Ratchet nodded. "Good. Prowl, I think- no. I _know_ that I've found the Chosen." Despite Red's bold words, Prowl showed no outer sign of any emotion whatsoever, but Red know him well, and he knew that under the thin veneer of composure, the tactics bot was reeling at the sacrilegious words he spoke.

"Red Alert, Leader, listen to yourself! Are you certain about this?" Prowl asked. In any other mech, the question would be reproachful, however, as this was Prowl, it only sounded faintly questioning. Red gave Prowl a look of reproach.

"Would I say so if I weren't certain? I had my suspicions, but they were confirmed once Starscream informed me that, as far as he knew, there were no clones made on the Nemeses." Ratchet startled at the knowledge that Red was in contact with the Decepticon Second. Unknown too many was the fact that during the Negavator incident, Red Alert and Starscream had accidentally bonded on the top-most level. It wasn't strong enough to reveal any secrets, and they could both block it when needed, but both of the loners had, over the months, gotten used to the sensation of not being alone, so they left it alone after the period where it would have been deadly to break it off had past. The second he had heard that a clone had been seen, he had heard a very loud screech of denial in his head, and an insistent voice claiming that, "I have no clone and I have no need of one!" Red currently was, and had been, blocking Starscream, and had no intention to let up, despite the requests for entry he could, even now, feel pinging up against the wall.

Prowl sighed, then looked over at the Seeker who had stopped repressing his laughter, and was now staring on in curiosity. Sighing, he turned back to Red and said evenly, "Very well. You always were more perceptive in these things then I." Ratchet look about ready to explode from curiosity.

"Hm. I suppose I should explain more, shouldn't I?" Red drew himself up, changed his intake pattern to be slower, and sent his energy out in calm even waves. Once he had finished, he was no longer Red Alert, Autobot Security Director, he was Red Alert, Leader of the Glitch outpost in the Ark.

"In the days of our ancestors, Primus looked at his children and say that they were becoming stagnant. They needed to change soon, or it would be too late, and they would be stuck in the rut they had created for the rest of eternity. Not wanting this to happen to his children, he started to introduce changes in his children at birth. The changed mechs were reviled by the others, and they banded together, learning to hide, to blend in.

"It went this way for man orns, with each of the changed mechs being found by one of the other and brought into the fold, but one day it all changed. The current leader of the Iacon outpost got a message from Primus himself, explaining their new purpose. Ever since then, we have trained in secret, awaiting the arrival of the Chosen." There was silence for a moment before Ratchet, having digested the information, burst out with,

"But just what _is_ the Chosen?"

Red Alert startled at the outburst. "What?"

Ratchet leaned forward, his vocals low and earnest, "The origin story of whatever it is that you two are is nice, but I still have no clue how it matches up with," Here he jabbed a finger in the direction of Starscream, "that." Red Alert re-set his optics in shock, realizing that he had fallen into the trance that all Leaders fell in while teaching, it let them recall the details and structure of the oral history better. This was all fine, so long as the intended audience was of one's own kind and also know these tales by heart, but, as he was telling this to Outsiders, to normal's, it hadn't been the best of ideas. Thinking quickly, he tried to think of some way to explain a concept he had always known, something that was bunt into his Spark from birth, to an Outsider, who could not possibly understand the level off commitment involved. He was saved from making a fool of himself by Prowl.

"According to our history, the Chosen is a mech chosen by Primus himself to make changes. The Chosen will look like one the Leader knows well, and will know things no-one else could know. However, there will be differences in the knowledge, as this mech is not of our world, but another. As of this point, there have only been three Chosen. One help rescue us from the Quintessions, one Lead us into the Golden age, and one…" He trailed off, "One started the war." There was no questioning what war he was referring to. Red frowned in realization. That speech came easy to Prowl. Almost _too_ easy. Almost as if he had it in his memory banks…

"Who." It wasn't a question. It was a demand for information. Prowl looked at him evenly before answering with just one word.

"Jazz." It made sense. After all, the other mech would have to learn eventually, and it would have been better for the both of them had Prowl just told him, rather then Jazz learn the breem after their bonding. Red Alert sighed, then said flatly,

"I would have preferred it if you had told me, but, as it is; there is nothing to be done." Prowl looked away. It did not matter that their's was an outpost of two, it _was_ an outpost, and the laws were the same. All exposure must have permission from the Leader. Red forgave Prowl, but he knew that the knowledge off what he had done must be grinding on the other.

"So what you are saying, is that this," Ratchet pointed again at the seeker, who was now staring at the lot of them as if the whole lot of them was insane were all insane, "is Primus's chosen?"

* * *

Starscream was about to scream with the pent-up questions. '_ARE YOU ALL OUT OF YOUR SLAGGING CPUs?_' Was the one that fought the most for attention, however, 'What _leader_are you talking about?' and 'Why did the Datsun look to the crazy mech for forgiveness?' were both strong contenders. Mostly though, he just wanted to figure out what the slag was going on. "Why are you so sure that I'm this 'Chosen'?" He finally burst out with. The Lamborghini looked at him and said calmly,

"First, it was only a suspicion, as I had no intel on anything to do with clones, which was backed up by Starscream's protests. It was then compounded when they brought you in. Did you know that a clone's Ping is identical to the predecessor? I know Starscream's Ping. It's not your's. They are similar, yes, but not identical. Finally, what compounded it for me was your face when Ratchet walked in. It was as if he had killed your best friend in front of your very optic, and gotten away with it."

Starscream frowned, he did not like to think that he was so transparent as that. He had, after all been one of the head employees at the largest casino in all of Cybertron before the war. His first love was his science, but it had helped to pay the bills, as after all, there was a waiting list the length of his arm of mechs waiting to go out of Cybertronian space, and, well, a lone seeker was much less likely to go then the larger, better equipped teams. Starscream had long ago resigned himself to the fact that his specialty in his life was to be the humans, but there was still that small voice in the back of his CPU sighing _if only…_ Dragging himself out of his thoughts as this was not the time for reminiscing; he looked at Red Alert and asked, "So. What are you going to do about it?"

* * *

As the group looked around at each other, that all thought that this was, indeed the question that needed answering the most.

* * *

A/N: What are those guys called anyways? You know, the ones that work for the casino and are the 'house' in the games... Also: Red has seemed to take over the fic.


	13. In Which Wheeljack Overreacts

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does. I just play in their 'verse.

A/N Uploading early due to the fact I'll be gone all day tomorrow. More below.

_

* * *

_

As the group looked around at each other, that all thought that this was, indeed the question that needed answering the most.

* * *

Starscream wasn't usually one for wallowing in self-pity, but he figured that he deserved it after the day he had had. Oh, it had started out fine, he had gotten to the dispensers early enough to get energon for him and his trine, and the flying conditions were perfect for his patrol. Too perfect, in fact. He couldn't resist enjoying the winds, and before he knew it, he had been late for a meeting with Megatron, which made their _supreme leader_ even more mad at him then usual, too mad to stop at his usual threats when Starscream pointed out a flaw in his plans. No, their _glorious commander_ had, in fact, shot him on both his wings, and then dropkicked him out of the meeting room. Starscream had just gotten out of the Constructicon's lair, but not without having to pay them the rations he had been saving for later. All he had wanted to do was go to bed, or maybe renew his bond with his trine-mates, but, alas, they were both vanished, and not to be seen. To top it all off, he couldn't even feel the presence at the other side of his bond, a fact that made him more edgy then he had thought he would have felt.

Starscream had always been a loner, in fact the only mech he had ever been close to, other then his creators, was Skyfire. He hadn't had any childhood friends, as he was born of a broken trine, and it was thought that his bad luck would rub off on any close to him. He always felt that his creators were vaguely disappointed him, after all, why had he not died with the others like any self-respecting seeker should? All in all, his first friend of any sort had been Skyfire, and everyone knew how that ended. Starscream would not be surprised if the news had reached Cybertron by now. After the shuttle had vanished in the storm, Starscream had been a different seeker. He pulled away from his as-of-then trine, and did not feel anything at their deaths in the war. Some time before the Nemesis was launched, he had been found by Thundercracker and Skywarp. If their relationship was not exactly what a trine's should, it fit them, and it disconcerted him that a self confirmed loner should be so attached to an Autobot of all mechs after only being bonded for all of a human month!

Starscream cycled air, and then sent an inquiring thought down the bond he had with Red. Nothing. He checked the status of his trine, still around 3 breems out, then settled down to recharge. He needed to preserve his energy there was no guarantee he'd get any energon tomorrow, second in command or not.

* * *

"So it's decided. We will play it by ear for now, until we gain more information." Red concluded.

Starscream huffed and said, "I could have told you that breems ago! What I want to know is what's he," he pointed slightly at Ratchet, almost as if afraid to draw his attention, "Doing here?"

Thinking about it, Red realized that this was the first time since the medic had entered the room that Starscream had given any sign that he realized the medic was in the room with him in any way. Tuning back in, he re-played Prowl's words in his CPU, as he hadn't been paying attention. 'I, too, would like to know as to why Ratchet is here. No offense meant, of course, Ratchet." Having caught up after his lapse, he listened to Ratchet's response.

* * *

"None taken. And allow me to add myself to the list of those who would just love to know why I'm here. After all, you just reviled the existence of a secret society that I'm not even sure Prime knows about. That's not something you do for kicks and giggles."

Ratchet added his stare to the two already leveled at Red Alert. Red Alert looked at him and said, "I choose you because you seemed to be the ring-leader of those defending Skyfire in the Rec Room, and I think I might need your, and the Science division's help."

Ratchet would have run a check-up on his audile sensors, if he didn't already know they were working perfectly. "Red Alert, I'm not the head of the Science division, Percy is." It wasn't until he had finished speaking, that he realized that he had referred to Perceptor as 'Percy'. Slag. Red Alert just looked at him with a grin on his faceplates.

"That, Ratchet, is why we will need your support in this, you are the leader of the Science Division in all but name and rank, and we will need your support, and that of your bondmates, in the cycles to come." At Ratchet's stunned look, Red Alert's grin turned positively evil, "What? Did you forget that there's not a thing that goes on in this ship without me knowing about it?"

* * *

Perceptor was working. Well, to be precise, he was working on a contact poison that would insert itself into a mech's CPU and put them in a temporary stasis. All he had to do was figure a way to make those last two proteins align, and then it would be complete. Reaching out to grab a beaker of yet another buffer chemical to try, he paused as a wave of _shock/surprise/embarrassment_ ran down his bond with Ratchet. Recovering himself, he sent a responding wave of _love/query/protection_, and waited for a response, feeling the echoing of Wheeljack's reply.

* * *

Wheeljack was playing. As this was one of the rare free times of his that didn't intersect with one of the other's free time, he had decided to play one of the racing games that Bluestreak had lent him. As he steered his hovercar though another turn, a blast of _shock/surprise/embarrassment_ came down his bond with Ratchet. Slightly stunned, he sent a reply of _query/love/curiosity,_ feeling the echo of Perceptor though the bond. Ignoring the fiery death of the hovercar on the screen he waited for Ratchet.

Feeling the pulses of reassurance though his bond, Ratchet looked at Red Alert and said, "Speaking of my bondmates…"

* * *

Red Alert grinned and looked at Prowl, who opened his Com and sent a message to both Wheeljack and Perceptor. "I have need of your assistance at Red Alerts quarters immediately." He quickly shut off his com so as to avoid answering the questions that would no doubt ensue. Pointlessly, he looked up and said, "Now we need only wait."

* * *

Around twenty minutes later Starscream was grinning his head off. Red was currently at the door, about to open it to let in the two new mechs that would be brought into the conspiracy. Star didn't know much about Perceptor, other then that he was the mech responsible for a virus that killed and entire colony, but he knew plenty about Wheeljack. Wheeljack was the mech who supplied the weapons to the entire Decepticon fraction; if you wanted something that went 'boom' you went to him. He was notorious for his fights with Ratchet, it was said that they had, more then once, tried to kill the other in his sleep! As the door opened, Starscream wondered how these would differ, other then the obvious, of course.

The door had finished opening and the Lancia and the Microscope/Tank walked in.

"Hey, Prowl, what do you nee-" The mech on the right, the one with the vocal indicators cut off abruptly at the sight of Starscream lounging across the back of Prowl's chair, "What the slag is he doing here!" Wheeljack pulled his gun from his subspace and aimed it at the seeker.

* * *

A/N v.2: adhkljshfalfjklasfhl I'M GOING TO SEE ROTF TODAY! *Cough* Now that _that's _out of my system, I am proud to inform you that I am the proud owner of two 3 year old Cocker Spaniels females. We got them from a lady that couldn't take care of them anymore and they are just lovely girls. On another note: Where did all these pairings come from? Also: Do you think I should add Red as the other main character? *Muses*


	14. In Which the Meeting of Doom Ends

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does. I just play in their 'verse.

A/N: FINALLY! It's over! Now I can move onto the plot!

* * *

"_Hey, Prowl, what do you nee-" The mech on the right, the one with the vocal indicators cut off abruptly at the sight of Starscream lounging across the back of Prowl's chair, "What the slag is he doing here!" Wheeljack pulled his gun from his subspace and aimed it at the seeker. _

* * *

After that point, several things happened at once.

Perceptor stepped behind Wheeljack and armed his cannon.

Ratchet tried to calm his mates down though their bond while trying to send the over-code though the bond to Wheeljack.

Red Alert covertly pulled his gun out of his sub-space and aimed it at Wheeljack while saying calmly and soothingly, "Wheeljack, you don't want to do this."

Prowl instinctively leapt up and moved in front of Starscream, spreading his door-wings in an unconscious method of protection.

And Starscream fell to the floor laughing hysterically.

The last was what got though to the engineer, causing him to pause long enough in his blocking patterns for Ratchet to send the codes, putting Wheeljack into immediate stasis.

* * *

The first thing Wheeljack saw as he came out of stasis was Starscream's face peering down at him. He would have moved or made a sound, but his optics were the first thing to return so he couldn't. Compounding this was the disappointment in him he felt coming down both of his bonds. For some reason, the seeker didn't react to his awakening, and Wheeljack realized that Ratchet was purposefully keeping his optics from lightening and started to return his other senses, including, unfortunately, his sense of touch. After another klick, Red Alert spoke up and said, "Starscream, get away from there, he's going to wake soon."

The seeker moved back saying, "I've never seen a mech in stasis up close before. Interesting. I assume it's like recharge?" The last was directed at Ratchet. Wheeljack didn't hear Ratchet's explanation as he was trying to compute the mind-boggling fact that _Starscream_ apparently had never seen an offline mech before. Hearing the tone of Ratchet's voice change from explanation mode to interrogation mode, Wheeljack tuned in, curious.

"And for that matter, what did you mean by that?" Ratchet was demanding of Starscream, who looked up at him _innocently_. Starscream? Innocent? It boggled the mind, but that was what was happening.

"Well, I'm not exactly a frontliner! I'm a xenoligist. I study humans." After he dropped that little bombshell, he seemed to be waiting for a reaction. He certainly got one.

"WHAT?"

Starscream, the slagger, just looked amused. "What? Did you think I was a fighter? With these?" He gestured at his null-rays, "No. My trine-mates do the all fighting. I talk to, interact with, and study the humans." He shrugged at the looks he was getting, "It was what I was made for. I am, after all, a seeker."

Ratchet had to ask. "A seeker? But seekers are military models! Or, at least, they are here."

Starscream was taken aback at that, "No… seekers are long-range exploration models. We all have to take at least the most basic levels of xenoligy so we may determine if the planets we are surveying are inhabited of not. I, however, was never able to handle the long eternities of solo exploration, and focused on studying in hopes of becoming part of a first contact team."

"Hm. Interesting. It makes me wonder how the other models and mechs differ in our time-lines."

* * *

When Jazz palmed open Prowl's door, he didn't know what to expect. He had scanned the interrogation room well enough to fit even Red's stringent demands, and he had com'ed Prowl to tell him so, but his request came back unopened. A request to Red, and in a panic thinking that something had happened to them, Ratchet, had both returned the same thing. Nothing.

In the end, he had stayed in that slagging room for the remainder of the shift, coming up with odder and more outrageous reasons for his lover's absence, all the while sending a com request every thirty minutes. After it all, he had just given up and locked the door behind him as he made his way to the quarters he had been sharing with Prowl for a while now, hoping that the reason they weren't responding wasn't that they were all in the high-security level of the Med-bay, or worse, the brig. As he opened the door, he wasn't sure what to expect. Once he saw the empty room, he wasn't sure whether to be pleased at the fact that he wouldn't have to confront Prowl over his absence, or worried and slightly betrayed by the fact that Prowl wasn't there, ready to tell him what had gone wrong. He sent another request and cycled air when it pinged back unopened. Quietly, he moved over to the berth and curled up to recharge facing the door.

* * *

Prowl palmed open the door to his quarters and sighed when he saw the curled-up figure of Jazz on the recharge berth. Moving over, he stroked Jazz's upper arm, and felt guilty over the fact that Jazz didn't even twitch in his recharge. Had it been any other mech, in any other place, Jazz would be up and have the other disabled in a klick, and it hurt him that he had betrayed the trust the other had placed in him. Prowl recycled air, moved to the other side of the berth, and curled around his mate. There would be time enough to explain things in the morning.

* * *

After a few breems more, Ratchet decided that Wheeljack had learned his lesson. This was not the seeker they had known from the battlefield and the many times they had taken him prisoner. It took him half a breem to return all of Wheeljack's functions to him, but Ratchet knew that his mate was still computing the information overload, and wouldn't be causing any problems. Ratchet looked at his internal clock and winced, was it really that late? He quickly made his excuses to Red, pulled his mate from his conversation with the talkative seeker, and then led his mates to their quarters and a well-needed recharge.

* * *

Perceptor was just buzzing with the new information he had gained in his talk with the other scientist. "What did you do to solve the power transfer problem in the couplings of the HGI?" He asked eagerly, after all, the HGI was one of his pet peeves here on the Ark, and if there was any way to reduce the amount of leaked energy, well then…. The possibilities of what they could do with the extra energy were endless!

Starscream gave the other a look, "Simple! We hooked up a reducer cap to the connecter, then diverted the excess to a nearby energon machine."

Perceptor stared at the other. "Brilliant. Simply brilliant! What did you do abou-" he was unable to finish his sentence as a rather large, red hand fastened itself across his mouth rendering him unable to speak with any coherency.

"Perceptor," Ratchet's calm, smooth voice said, "It's late. We need to re-charge or else we won't be able to awaken in time for our shifts tomorrow." Ratchet removed his hand.

Perceptor looked at is internal clock and was taken aback for a klick, was it really that late? Regretfully, he looked at Starscream and said, "I do believe that we have become overtaken by our excitement. Perhaps we should re-convene tomorrow?"

Starscream grinned, "That would be great." And with that, Perceptor went along with his mates to their quarters.

* * *

Wheeljack groaned as Prowl left the room and Ratchet started to allow his bodily functions to return to him. As he was still computing all he had learned, he made no move other then to follow Ratchet as he made his excuses, pulled Perceptor away from his new toy, and went to their quarters. Once they arrived though, he hung back from them both as they did their usual pre-re-charge routine. In fact, he was planning to just stay in the background for the next few days, to let the memory of his stupid blunder fade. He had a berth in his laboratory, and, although it had been rare that he had used it since his bonding, he had used it often enough when he had just been so caught up in an experiment that he didn't come to himself for far to long, that it wouldn't be commented on. He was about to slink off, when a pair of servos grabbed him, one on each arm, and pulled him to the berth, positioning him in between them, and though his bonds, all he could feel was _love/forgiveness/calm/rest_ pulsing though him and lulling him to sleep, content in the strength of their bond, and their love.

* * *

Red Alert grinned at seeing Ratchet's easy handling of his mates. Perceptor and Wheeljack may out-rank him, but it was clear who was the protector in that particular bond! Once they left, Red turned to the wall and pressed a hidden button there, causing another berth to fold down from the wall, identical to Red's except that this one was behind Red's berth, so that no one could get at Starscream without Red knowing about it. It didn't need saying that it also meant that Starscream couldn't get out without waking Red. Red told Starscream which would be his, and then went to his own berth, exhausted after this trying day. Despite it all though, he still wasn't capable of falling into re-charge until he was sure the other had as well. Chosen or not, Red still had his pariglitch.

* * *

Starscream had almost forgotten what it was like, talking to other who understood about science. At the Academy, there were many who loved to talk to a seeker, for seekers were well known for their odd insight into problems that often saw things that others missed. Once he had left the Academy, his lab-mates weren't talkative in the slightest. And these days… Well, the Constructibots were too insular; Oil Slick scared him, and Soundwave? Soundwave was having a good day if he spent longer then five breems out of his specially insulated rooms. No, it had been entirely too long since the Academy. Once Perceptor had left, he made his way to the berth Red had indicated was to be his, CPU whirling with possibilities.

* * *

Skyfire, after a day full of pacing across the ward, couldn't stay awake any longer and fell into a recharge filled with troubled dreams.


	15. In Which the Plot Advances

Disclaimer: I don't own Tranformers. Hoasbro does. I just play in their 'verse.

A/N: I'm working on revamping the first few chapters, and Chapter One is done and is so much better, so go check it out!

* * *

When Red Alert woke it was like every other awakening he had ever experienced, instantaneous and jolting. One second he was in re-charge, the next he was scanning the room, comparing the data with what his scans the night before had shown, and checking his memory banks for anything that would be of importance. Thankfully, he had long before ensured that his memory scan came in a nano-second before his surrounding scan did, so his didn't do anything irreparable, such as killing the Chosen.

Seeing that the other was still in recharge, he was about to leave a message, telling him that he would be back at 1500, when he felt another attempt at getting past the wall he had set up in his bond. Frowning, he deflected it casually; Starscream must be bored to be spending so much time trying to access his side of the bond. He quickly jotted down the note, and left in on the table in the center of the room where Starscream was sure to find it. Before he left for his shift, he activated his personal terminal on 'safe', so only history and select novels were accessible. Checking his chono, he saw that it was almost time for his shift to start. Quickly he left the room, but not before ensuring that all ten locks were engaged.

Not an hour later, while he sat in front of his monitors, another request came down though the bond. Having expected this, Red Alert removed only the top-most layer of the wall, so they would be able to talk, but not pry into the other's surface level thoughts, and that Starscream would only be able to see though Red's optics with Red's direct uplink. Red knew that this would be the only way to allow the other in right now, while his CPU was still in turmoil over the true identity of the Chosen. Already, he could feel his essence flowing though the link to Starscream's CPU, and Starscream's essence to his. As the swirling presence settled down, Red could hear Starscream asking with a tinge of _curiosity/longing/boredom _in his mental voice, '_Why'd you lock me out?' _Red had never figured out why it was that Starscream and himself could talk over their bond when, as far as Red knew, the other bonds only transmitted feelings. Red had put it down as a glitch or seeker thing, and left it along for the most part.

Smiling slightly, he sent a wash of _contentment/amusement/tiredness_ though the bond as he answered with a simple, '_You very well know why._' and left it at that, implying the he had simply been called to a meeting on security that had run longer then expected. This was accepted, with a wave of _amusement_ as this had happened before, many times. Satisfied that at least this part of his life was going right, he gave Starscream the viewing uplink, and settled back for another enjoyable day.

* * *

When Starscream woke, it was sudden and abrupt, due to the proximity alert he had programmed so that he may awaken once the room was empty. Quietly, he scanned the room, and once he was convinced that it was, indeed, empty, he sat up and looked around. The room was exactly the same as it was last night, except that the table had a floating symbol above it. Curious, he made his way over, and, as if it was proximity alerted, it flickered off, leaving a screen set in the table showing a note from Red Alert. Curious, he read it quickly.

Starscream,

I will be on shift until 1500. The energon

dispenser is on the back wall. I have

unlocked the history files and novels

on this terminal for your entertainment.

Red Alert

Starscream's dismal look on the day brightened. History files? Of, he knew it would mostly be Autobot propaganda, but he was well used to sifting though slag to find the few gems of knowledge. Quickly he went to the energon dispenser, tapping his thruster at the time it took to fill, then took his cube to the table. Not long after, he had found the controls and set the terminal into hologram mode and, after a moment of thought, pulled of the files on the start of the Great War. He might as well see how this correlated to the information Skyfire had given him and work from there. Skyfire. He felt a twinge in his spark at the thought of the larger mech. He hoped that the other was doing well. Good mood effectively dampened, he did what he had done many times in the past. He buried himself in the files, letting the new information take over his processor and take his mind away from what he couldn't change.

* * *

When Ratchet woke, it was with the comforting sensation of his two bondmates with him. Sitting up, he smiled slightly at the picture his mates made. Wheeljack's right leg was tucked under Ratchet's left, and his torso was tilted slightly towards Perceptor, reflecting the fact that Percy was cuddled up close to Wheeljack, head tucked under 'Jack's, and hand clenching Ratchet's. With a slight feeling of disappointment, Ratchet untangled himself from them and watched them for a minute as they, sensing their missing mate, seemed to cast about in their re-charge for a small while, before seeming to subsided and curl up into each other. Ratchet checked his chono and swore, if he didn't hurry, he would be late. Reaching out, he caressed Wheeljack's winglets, and stroked Perceptor's cannon, then rushed off, bad mood already forming at the thought of what would probably be waiting for him at the Med-bay. _The twins most likely slagged themselves again._ Unfortunately, his prediction was correct. As the twins had not let Prowl's rescue of Bluestreak stand in their way, or, rather, Sideswipe had not let it stand in his way. Apparently, from the residue left on Sideswipe after it backfired on him, it involved glue, Gatorade, and feathers. Ratchet, after seeing Sideswipe's sorry condition, had walked up, ignored the twin's explanation and disabled his voice. Ratchet wasn't Prowl, but he just knew that the explanation would lock him up.

Grumbling, he pointed Sideswipe to his berth, after the first 500 visits one was rewarded with a berth of their own, and went to the dispenser for his morning rations. After gulping it down, he poured another and took it to the secure wing. After going thought the security, he called though the intercom, "Get to the back wall." After he confirmed that Skyfire had moved away, he passed the cube though the slot that was made for that purpose.

* * *

When Skyfire woke, he at first thought that he was in his hanger at the back of that ark, and that he was late for his shift at the lab, but all it took to disturb that illusion was the barest glace around his surroundings. For one fleeting moment, he thought about going back into re-charge, but talked himself out of it, after all, what if his morning ration came, and as he wasn't there to get it, they would just leave without giving it to him? As Skyfire was of the larger mechs, he required more energon to function then the others, this meant that if he missed to many rations, his lesser functions would cease to work, and since he had been at almost half rations due to the lack of energon… One missed ration would be enough.

Skyfire could remember a time where that hadn't been so, when he hadn't had to worry about getting shot, or killed, or thought a traitor. A time where he was able to work with Starscream and not thought twice about it. _Oh, Starscream…_ Skyfire had had such hopes when he had found the clone. For a second, it was almost as if he had been transported back in time, to one of their surveys, and Star had, once again lost track of time and had forgotten to take rations. This illusion was shattered when the clone had opened his mouth and had spoken those words. _"Who are you?" The seeker cocked his head to the side slightly, a familiar action to any who had spent time with Starscream, "Do I know you?" And his heart broke._

Skyfire was shaken out of his introspection when Ratchet's harsh voice filtered over the intercom, _"Get to the back wall."_ That was it. That was all Ratchet had to say to the mech who had been his friend. Get to the wall. Skyfire moved to the wall, and watched numbly as the ration came thought the slot. To small. Again. Skyfire didn't blame Ratchet. It wasn't his fault the mech didn't know the proper energon ration size for a shuttle. Even before the war, shuttles were rare, and were taken care of specialists, and Ratchet hadn't been one. And besides, Skyfire hadn't mentioned it, and he hadn't had a check-up yet, so it was all fine.

Walking quickly to the door, he was about to pick up the cube, when he saw that there was something under the cube. Carefully, he picked the cube up, making sure his back was to the cameras, and quickly read the slip of paper before dunking into the energon and drank it with the rest.

Skyfire- the cameras will be off at 

1400. I will be here then. Be ready 

to explain your actions. Ratchet.

Skyfire felt his Spark rise at the indication that Ratchet hadn't given up on him, but didn't let it show on his faceplates as he finished the cube, letting the container fizzle away, then made his way to the berth where he sat, staring at the wall opposite him.


	16. In Which The Conspiracy Grows

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does. I just play in their 'verse.

A/N Ho hum. Chapter two's been re-uploaded.

* * *

When Jazz awoke, it was with the feeling of his lover curled up around him. Jazz smiled slightly, and then frowned, remembering Prowl's absence the night before. Jazz tensed slightly, ready to leap away at the slightest provocation, but it was all put to waste as Prowl nuzzled his one of his sensor horns, murmuring, "Relax, we have all day."

Jazz paused for a moment, then turning around, glaring lightly over at Prowl, then asked with more then a touch of reproach in his voice, "Where were you yesterday? I waited in that room until the end of the shift, but you didn't show!"

Prowl's faceplate grew serious as Prowl sighed, then sat up, looking down at Jazz solemnly, "Jazz, we need to talk."

Jazz's mind raced, what was this about? Had Prime called for Prowl yesterday, and was that why he wasn't able to come? Had Jazz been any other mech, in any other situation, he would have assumed that Prowl was going to break up with him, but Jazz knew that was never going to happen, after all, why would Prowl tell him about his glitch if he was about to break it off with him less then a month later? Jazz sat up and returned Prowl's look, "Yes?"

Prowl sighed and turned his face away from Jazz, it was had for him to tell Jazz about this after a lifetime of being told that if any of the Outsiders knew about any of these things, they would go on a glitch-hunt the like of which had not been seen since the dark era of their world's history. Still looking away, he started hesitantly, "Do you recall the tales I told you? The ones from my past?"

Jazz's optics dimmed a little in an expression of curiosity that he had picked up from the humans. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with the price of energon in Kaon?" A thought that had been lurking in his mind ever since Prowl had told him that he hadn't had permission to tell Jazz as much as he had crept up and made too much sense. He had to ask. "Does-is this to do with Red? Did he find out that you told me?"

Prowl was startled, then realized that just because his priorities had taken a sudden re-arranging and he knew that Red had more important things to worry about then the social life of his second, didn't mean that Jazz knew that. Prowl let his iron control slip a little more, then smiled reassuringly, "In a round-about way, yes, however that is not what I wish to tell you." Prowl now frowned slightly, "Do you recall the legend of the Chosen?"

Jazz did, indeed recall that legend, and responded with enthusiasm, which then morphed to concern, "Yeah! That was totally wicked how you guys believe that Primus has a hand in the developments of Cybertron. But… What does that have to do with…" A thought occurred to him, "Oh, no. No. Tell me you don't think that the clone-"

Prowl cut him off, "He fits the signs, Jazz! All of them! And there is only a 18 percent chance that he isn't!"

Jazz stared at him as if he could see right into Prowl's spark though his optics, then sighed, "I may not believe it, but someone has to keep you from getting killed, count me in." Prowl looked elated, and looked as if he was going to say something, but Jazz cut him off before he got started, "However! I want to see this clone for myself. Deal?"

Prowl sent a query to Red, then, after getting a response, told a dumbstruck Jazz with a wicked gleam in his optics, "We can go any time."

* * *

Less then a joor later, they were standing in front of the door as Prowl was working his way thought the locks following Red's instructions. "Left, right, left, left, up, diagonal…" Thus far, they had gotten though nine of the locks, each somehow managing to be harder then the next, and now they were on the last, and the hardest. Prowl had been working on this particular lock for five minutes now, and he was almost done. "Right, right, down… Done!" Triumphantly, he finished and opened the door, bowing in Jazz ahead of him.

* * *

Starscream was having the time of his life. All the energon he could eat and an entire new culture to learn? Slag, yeah! He had finished a brief time-line of the war, and read several accounts of where the war stood as of now, and all in all, Starscream couldn't figure which universe had the worst of it. He still flinched whenever Megatron's name came up, but it was getting easier to take. Right now he was deep in an article about Pre-War seeker culture, and that was the reason he hadn't heard the others come in until Jazz was right up in his face saying, "Hello? Anyone in there?" then rapping his curled up servo on the top of Starscream's helm.

* * *

Jazz didn't really need to tap the top of the seeker's helm, but it was the fastest way that Jazz could think of getting the seekers attention! When they had walked into the room, the seeker was out of it, paying only attention to whatever it was he was reading. Jazz walked over, saying, "Hey I'm Jazz, what'ca reading?"

When the seeker paid him no mind, Jazz walked over and took a look at what it was he was reading. The article turned out to be nothing more then an essay on seeker living habits. When the other didn't respond then, Jazz tapped him on the helm. Big. Mistake. Next thing he knew, the seeker was on the floor pointing a charging null-ray at his face. Micro-seconds later, the seeker charged down the null-ray and said bewilderedly, "You aren't Skywarp! Who are you?"

* * *

Starscream could admit it, when he read, it seemed as if he took a trip back in it to a simpler time, a time where there were to sides, there was no war, a time where the only thing he had to worry about was the next test, and his trine keeping him from studying. It had been no different this time, and he was only brought out of his stupor, when the mech he had assumed was Skywarp smacked him up-side the head causing him to fall on the floor. Reacting instinctively, he charged his null-ray and pointed them at the other, to only micro-seconds later turn them off and say, "You aren't Skpwarp! Who are you? How did you get in here?"

The other's smirk only got wider, if that was even possible, and he spoke in an almost sing-song, as if all his words were to a song that, although you had never heard it before, was still familiar. "Keep it cool, mech, the name's Jazz. Prowl brought me in. Seems I'm the latest in this little conspiracy you've got going on in here."

Starscream could feel his optic ridge rise as he computed this 'Jazz's' words. "First, I am no mech, I'm a seeker, please keep that distinction in mind. Second," Here he turned to face the Datsun that had been standing in front of the door, letting Jazz do his thing, "Prowl. A little warning would be nice, yes? Finally," And now he turned so he could face the both of them, "will there be more additions to this little group, or all the slots full?"

Prowl shrugged, "I, alas, don't have a clue. Red Alert would be the one you would have to talk to."

Starscream glowered darkly at the mech, "That's what I thought you would say." Brightening slightly, he turned to Jazz, "So. What can I do for you? Other, of course, then offlining myself, as that would be rather stupid."

* * *

Skyfire startled at the sound of the door whishing open. Turning, he caught sight of a mech he had defiantly not expected to see. Stuttering slightly from shock, he gasped out, "Wh-what are _you_ doing here?"


	17. In Which Wheeljack Plots

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does. I just play in their 'verse.

A/N: Uploading early as I'm going to leave to a competition early tomorrow morning. Wish me luck! Also: Chapters 3 & 4 have been re-uploaded.

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* * *

_

Skyfire startled at the sound of the door whishing open. Turning, he caught sight of a mech he had defiantly not expected to see. Stuttering slightly from shock, he gasped out, "Wh-what are you doing here?"

* * *

When Wheeljack woke, it was with the distinct sensation of something, or someone, missing. Within micro-seconds, Wheeljack knew that the thing missing was Ratchet. He sent his quickly mind down the link and _felt/sensed/knew_ that Ratchet was in the infirmary finishing the interrupted inventory of the day previous. Wheeljack smiled slightly as Ratchet, sensing his presence, sent a wave of _love/comfort/amusement_ to his mate. Wheeljack returned the wave, and then pulled back out of the bond as he sensed movement beside and around him. Onlineing his optics, he looked down at the top of Perceptor's head, they must have woken him with the sensations. "Morning, Perce!" Wheeljack chirped cheerfully, vocal indicators flashing a light blueish white.

Perceptor look amused, "Well, you seem to be in a congenial mood this morning considering your actions last night."

Wheeljack seemed to want to crumple in on himself, "Well, I had a lot of time to think on the situation and I've come to the conclusion that I overreacted. A lot." He perked up, "However, I was listening to the conversation you two were having and it gave me some interesting ideas."

Perceptor grinned up at Wheeljack, "So I shouldn't expect you for the noon meal then?" Wheeljack was known for spending hours, even days, in his lab, working on one thing or another. He had a berth in there, and an energon dispenser, so his mates didn't worry so long as he remembered to tell them when he would be working late.

Wheeljack returned his grin, "Probably not." Wheeljack quickly helped de-tangle themselves from each other, and made his way to his lab, humming a song he had heard somewhere.

Wheeljack was almost halfway there, when a voice stopped him. "Morning, Wheeljack! How are you? I'm fine. I'm going to the south-east patrol route in twenty minutes, and I've had this one for the last few months as you know and I saw this really cool stone yesterday that I just can't place what it is, could you ask Perceptor if he could figure it out since Beachcomber isn't here?" Bluestreak.

Wheeljack idly contemplated making a run for it, but cast the thought aside as cruel and besides, it was only for twenty minutes! Reaching out he took the stone from Bluestreak's outstretched hand. "No prob." Wheeljack said, vocal indicators flashing merrily.

"Thanks! Did you know that there are twenty-seven different kinds of…"

* * *

Ten minutes later, he had been rescued by Trailbreaker, who was Bluestreak's patrol partner. Chuckling, Wheeljack continued on towards his lab, eager to start.

* * *

Wheeljack simply couldn't keep his mind on what he was doing. Once again, he found himself just standing in front of his work desk, components hanging limply in his servos. Exasperated, he placed the parts down and turned to pace. For some reason he had never figured out, he always thought best while pacing. Wheeljack was concerned for his mates. Why? He was concerned that they were being taken it by a pair of blue eyes and a sad story. Wheeljack loved his mates, but they were suckers for a pair of big, sad optics. After all, they were made for the science department, that was in their programming. Wheeljack though… Wheeljack had been programmed and trained as a demolition expert for the Iacon Guard. As far as he could see, there was no way around the fact that until he knew more about the situation, he would continue to worry about them. Finally, he decided that he would get more information from a certain friend of his.

"Hi, Ratchet!" Wheeljack grinned at the sight of his bond-mate startling at the sound of his voice. It was not Ratchet's fault he hadn't heard Wheeljack come up on him. For one, the engineer had gone out of his way to be sneaky, to the point of even gesturing Sideswipe, who was in there for a routine check for once, to keep quiet while sneaking up on the other mech. And for another, all Ratchet could feel from the bond was _excitement/love/mischief_ from Wheeljack and _amusement/curiosity/love_ from Perceptor, which could have meant anything from them watching a good movie, to laughing at one of Jazz's jokes.

Leaning back, the medic frowned at Wheeljack, "Wheeljack? Why are you here? Are you hurt? I didn't feel anything…"

Wheeljack could feel the medic probing their link and sending queries to Perceptor, who was no help, only ably to send _Amusement!_ though their bond. Laughing, Wheeljack held up his hands in surrender, "No, no, nothing like that! I was just curious;" And he felt his position change from amusement to questioning, "do you think I could visit Skyfire? I miss him…" Wheeljack could almost feel the increase of intensity in Sideswipe's stare, and he could feel the apprehension coming from Ratchet.

The medic hesitated and was about to speak, when he paused, changed his mind on what he was about to say, then paused again, having changed his mind again. Wheeljack could feel his bond-mate's apprehension as he finally decided on a cautious "I don't see why not…"

Standing up, Ratchet lead the way to the secure wing, easily ignoring Sideswipe's now incredulous stares. Moving quickly though the double blast doors, he said, "Com me when you are ready to come out and don't say anything about our… friends. Keep it in the parameters of an interview."

Wheeljack nodded and Ratchet opened the door. Walking in, he smiled slightly at Skyfire's stuttered, "Wh-what are _you_ doing here?"

Moving farther into the room, Wheeljack pulled out a datapad, "I am going to be interviewing you on the events of the past few weeks Skyfire. They thought it would be better that you were interviewed by someone you knew well." Moving to the berth closer to the door, he gestured to the other, "Sit down, this will take a while."


	18. In Which There is Much Filler

A/N: Gah. This is late and short but on top of my workload, I've a tad bit of writers block. To make up for the shabbiness of this update (as well as the fact that this is both last and this week's update due to, well, RL) I added a omake at the end that popped in my head earlier today. Prolly not funny, but it amused me, and at this point I'll take what I can get from my muse. *Goes to study embryology*

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. Hasbro does. I just play in their 'verse.

_

* * *

_

Moving farther into the room, Wheeljack pulled out a datapad, "I going to be interviewing you on the events of the past few weeks Skyfire. They thought it would be better that you were interviewed by someone you knew well." Moving to the berth closer to the door, he gestured to the other, "Sit down, this will take a while."

* * *

Hesitantly, Skyfire moved forward and sat almost gingerly on the berth, asking carefully "What do you want to know?"

Wheeljack looked down at the datapad, and using the stylus, either typed something, of made a move in a game of solitaire. Skyfire wasn't sure, the movements were similar. Looking up, the engineer asked the first in what Skyfire was sure to be a very long, very exhausting series of questions. "When did you first meet the Starscream clone?"

Skyfire mentally sighed. Yep, long and exhausting. Skyfire meet the mech's optics and started to compute just what he should tell the other.

* * *

Twenty minutes in, and Jazz knew that he had this Starscream clone wrapped around his finger. There was some resistance, yes, but Jazz knew that all of that would soon be gone, and all that would be left was another transformer who would never do him or his any harm. Jazz sometimes hated the fact that he wouldn't, couldn't, honestly befriend anyone anymore, instead, he always sounded them out, figured them out, played the fool, the jokester, let them think him harmless, but ensure that subtly, deep down in the dark underside of their CPU, they got the message that those who harm Jazz's own, die. No questions asked by anyone, least of all Prime or Prowl. Their deaths would be marked down as 'Death by Decepticons' and, after a bit of excitement over the state of their mangled bodies, the Autobots, as a whole, would move on. No one would forget the site of those mechs, found outside the Ark mangled and torn apart into exactly ten parts, but they would, and had, moved on. Until the next idiot came along.

Jazz nodded to what the seeker was saying about what he had discovered in the history books and how it differed from his world. Jazz kept on nodding and agreeing in the right places, as long as he let the other keep at it, he was able to get a good idea of where the other came from and the best approaches to gain a better advantage over him should there be any need.

* * *

Prowl stood, back leaning against the wall next to the door. He knew what his lover was doing, and it pained him. Not that the mech was doing it, Prowl had long ago gotten used to that fact about the Spec. Ops. Mechs, after all, he was a tactician, and they often worked closely. No, what pained the Datsun was that they had been forced to this, that the Decepticon's lust for power had forced innocent mechs like Jazz, Bluestreak, or even himself to change, to turn into these caricatures of who they had been. To become darker, to know that, although they were fighting for a new and better Cybertron, most would likely never see it, and of those who did, they would feel out of place in peace time, as war was now all they knew. To Prowl, the Chosen didn't just represent change, he also meant hope that maybe, one day, war-mechs like himself could live without their ingrained habits ruining any chance they had at peace.

* * *

Starscream knew that he was most likely being ignored, after all, he had been so many times before, but he also knew that if he didn't fill the silence in the room, he would go mad. This wasn't the nice, warm, comfortable silence of before; this was a tense, silence that Starscream was sure he only understood a small fraction of. He continued to babble, trying his hardest not to scream, when the timer he had set up that morning chimed. It cut though the silence like a hot knife though room temperature butter, that is to say, easily. Starscream almost jumped out of his seat, Jazz startled slightly, and Prowl's doorwings flared in the most honest display of emotion that Starscream had seen the other express the entire time he had known him. Getting up, he stammered his apologies as he almost ran over to the alarm to turn it off. As he turned back around, he saw Jazz shrug and say, "No problem, mech, so you're a xenoligist? What do you know about the music where you come from?"

Starscream couldn't help but give the other a vaguely offended look, "What kind of a xenoligist would you take me for? You can learn so much about a culture from their music!"

* * *

'_What the- What the unholy, undead slag was that? How is this guy not getting caught? I can sneak better then that _while drunk._' _

Red Alert grinned,_'And what would be the fun in that? The best part is seeing how Prowl reacts to their stupidity. I'm glad Sunstreaker didn't get himself pulled into this. After all, pranking Prime's quarters? It will be an incredible sight to see.'_

* * *

Omake:

Wheeljack: So, Skyfire, do you, in any way, know of the 'Chosen' status of Starscream?

Skyfire: …wait. What?

Wheeljack: I'll take that as a no…

Skyfire: No, really, what was that?

* * *

Wish me luck for Wednesday!


End file.
